


Save him

by ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish



Series: Ree [7]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Developing Relationship, Drinking & Talking, F/M, Girls with Guns, Intense, Long Shot, Love, Relationship(s), To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 16:35:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12136590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish/pseuds/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish
Summary: Hancock feels like having a night off, so together with Ree they go to The Third Rail. There Ree meets Magnolia, who has a keen eye for what's happening between the humble mayor and his new friend... The story of Ree & Hancock continues.





	Save him

Five days passed. Only two days after Nick left us I finally fired a pistol, and for real this time. Hancock was there with me and he played a role of a proud dad like on a day her little girl could ride a bike for the first time without training wheels.

Each day I was more and more confused, though. Hancock seemed to take a bit more distance between us and usually asked Fahrenheit to help me with my training. Otherwise he acted normally, like nothing was really bothering him. Of course, he was still working on clearing out the people of slavery business. His men managed to rescue the two synths which some raiders tried to smuggle into Goodneighbor. The rescued synths were handed over to The Railroad, which promised to take them to safety, and the raiders were questioned and killed when they didn't provide anything new.

Hancock kept his promise to find me something useful to do. Now I was working as an assistant at Daisy's Discounts – mainly just helping Daisy to keep her storage in order and attending the shop when she did inventory.

Daisy is wonderful. She's a ghoul, but she was actually born just about 10 years before me. Unlike me she hadn't signed up to the Vault-Tec's program, so she was left on the surface and the radiation turned her to ghoul. When she learned that I loved books, she told me that as a little girl she used to spend a lot of time at the Boston Public Library.

I almost told her that I used to work there, but got a hold of my tongue in time. I still remembered Holly's advice and didn't tell about my past unless it was unnecessary, which it usually wasn't. Together with Daisy we still talked about books and slowly I started to feel like home.

Right now I was at the storage room again, shooting cans under the watchful eye of Fahrenheit. I was getting a whole lot better with my aiming and she was a great help with her experience.

”I think you should try something else, next”, Fahrenheit said when I had emptied the pistol from another set of bullets. ”How do you feel about this?”

She held a long rifle so that I could see it from different angles.

”What is it?”

”This is a hunting rifle with a long barrel and a full stock. It's just a basic mode, but I think it could suit you well. It has a good range and accuracy, but the recoil will be more heavier than with the pistol.”

”Oh. Well, I guess I could at least give it a try”, I nodded and put down the handgun.

When I took the rifle from Fahrenheit and was feeling the strange new weight, Hancock came in. He greeted both of us and then turned to Fahrenheit.

”I need you to round up few men and check on Bobbi. I think she's up to something, and this time I have a feeling in my gut that she's finally going to do something more stupid than before.”

Hancock and Fahrenheit talked for a while. Then Fahrenheit nodded at me, told me to ”get comfortable” with the rifle, and was gone.

At once I felt a bit nervous. It had been few days since I had been alone with Hancock, but I was still as lost with my feelings as I had been before. I had found myself thinking about him every now and then and missing his company.

He lit a cigar and walked up to me, smiling.

”A rifle, huh? Have you used it already?”

”No”, I cleared my throat. ”Fahrenheit gave it to me just now, before you came in. She told me that I should try it next.”

”Lemme see it a bit”, he took the rifle from me and examined it with the cigar drooping from the corner of his mouth. I watched the smoke line twirling up and avoiding his tricorne hat.

”Lookin' good. It's already loaded, too. Come on, I'll help you get started with it.”

Without waiting for my answer he gave the rifle back to me, discarded the cigar and stepped in the shooting range with me. The rifle was much heavier than a pistol, as lifted it up and set my gaze along the front sight.

”Here”, Hancock said behind me and before I noticed it, he was standing so close to my back that if I had moved an inch, I'd been leaning to him. ”Hold the stock so that it'll fit in your shoulder pocket, right here. If you keep it here instead, it can break your collarbone even if you're wearing the shooting jacket.”

From standing behind me he brought both of his hands in front and held them on top of mine.

Shit. My heart beats so loud that soon it's going to break out from my chest. I saw my hands starting to tremble slightly.

”You good? Or do you want to stop”, Hancock asked. He didn't move, but I heard his deep, raspy voice just next to my left ear.

I swallowed and ordered my hands keep still. It didn't help at all.

”No, I'm good. I want to do this.”

”Okay, so let's continue. Now, it's the same thing with rifles as it's with pistols – squeeze the trigger, don't pull it. Weld your cheek to the stock. I'll help you with the recoil when it comes. Now... Aim.”

It was hard enough to use such a gun for the first time, let alone doing it while Hancock was practically all around me. I had many good reasons to be nervous, but I tried to follow his lead.

”When you have it, take a small breath, let it out and... Squeeze.”

The moment between when I squeezed the trigger and when the bullet hit he stone wall behind the tin cans was only a tiny fraction of a second, but my mind registered everything that happened at the same time. The sudden kick of the stock against my shoulder did surprise me, even though I had tried to be prepared for it. It shoved my whole upper body against Hancock's chest and he tightened his grip on my hands, giving me support and ready to grab the gun if needed.

I felt the recoil everywhere, from toes to fingertips. It gave me a small hit of adrenaline, which started circulating in my veins and made me almost winded.

”You feeling okay?” I could tell that he was smiling, even if I didn't see his face.

”...I'm fine. It's just so different from shooting with a pistol”, I tried to keep my voice steady and not let him hear the nervous tremble.

”You did well. You'll get used to the kick soon enough, now you just have to keep on practicing”, Hancock noted. He was still holding on to me and I was getting very uncomfortable.

”Hancock? My arms are getting tired”, I muttered. After a few seconds (hesitation?) he gave a low laugh and let go of me. I lowered my hands which now felt somewhat achy from both holding the gun and the shock it had given me.

”I actually wanted to see how you're doing. Now I think I'll head down to _The Third Rail_ and get hammered. I think a mayor deserves that every now and then.”

”You mean the bar where...”

”Yeah, the one where you were taken. But it's really a good place – they didn't have a clue of what was going on”, Hancock assured me and fished another cigar from his pocket.

I put the rifle on a table and rubbed my shoulder which was getting little sore.

”Can I come with you?” I heard myself asking without thinking.

But right now I did feel like I needed a drink. Besides an odd glass of red wine every now and then I had steered away from strong alcohols since my mom gave in to drinking, which ultimately had led her to cause a major car crash and to her own death. Now it didn't even feel like it had been my life. It was more like something I had just read of.

Hancock blew a smoke cloud in the air and grinned.

”Now, _how_ could I say no to that?”

After locking up the storage room we headed down to the old subway station. It didn't look as sinister as it had back when I saw it for the first time – of course, the difference being that back then I was a captive. Even before we started descending the stairs down I heard the same jazz singer. She still sounded warm and her voice had just a hint of seduction.

There were people – bots, ghouls and normal people – sitting around the bar and scattered throughout the space that once had held a lobby for people waiting for their subway trains. It was dark, but there were enough electric and neon lights so the room was lit with hazy air, scented with cigar smoke, old alcohol, stuffy old sofas and a dash of dirt, sweat and a rusty undertone.

Hancock chatted a while with a Mister Handy, who was programmed to speak with a cockney accent. He was called Whitechapel Charlie, and apparently he worked for Hancock. After sharing a few roaring laughs with him Hancock grabbed a bottle of whisky off the counter.

”You want something else?” he turned to look at me. ”The whisky here is decent.”

”I'd like some wine, if you have any”, I addressed Charlie. He zoomed at me with his eyes, turned around and grabbed a vague-looking, dark bottle off the back shelf.

”Here yew go, luv. Nothin' fancy, but i' should stay down”, Charlie grunted and offered me the bottle.

I took it and thanked the old Mr. Handy.

”How much is it?”

”Yer money ain't good 'ere. Mister Hancock drinks free, awright?” the bot muttered and attended his other customers.

We sat down in an empty booth and Hancock poured us drinks – meaning he poured me a glass, and started drinking straight from the bottle.

”You weren't kidding when you said you'd get hammered?” I chuckled.

He smiled, but I noticed his smile was weary.

”It's not always fun being a mayor. Shit, I'm lying. It's fun. But it's also tiring to deal with scumbags. And now I think someone, who has held a grudge against me for years, has finally lost her mind. But enough of that. Tell me about the world you lived in.”

I looked around us, but it seemed that nobody was interested in eavesdropping. Plus, the singer's beautiful voice and the jazz music was enough to create a small coverage. So I told him about my life, before the incident which left me traumatized. I told about my few friends, how we were carpooled to school and some stories about our family trips.

”Sorry, it's mainly just boring life with nothing happening”, I gave an apologetic laugh.

”To me it sounds like a utopia”, Hancock growled while straightening himself on his seat. ”It's hard to think that something like that was ever here.”

I couldn't do anything but agree on that. A sudden shadow over me made me look up and face a beautiful woman standing next our table. She had a black, straight hair and stunning classical features, and the red, sparkly dress was like painted on her.

”Ahh, John Hancock. I had started to think you've forgotten all about me”, she laughed and I recognized her.

”You're the singer? You're amazing”, I blurted. Uh-oh. I was down on my third glass, and it was already making me not to think before speaking.

The woman gave me a dazzling smile and stretched out her slender hand.

”Magnolia. My, you have lovely hair. It's like silver strands”, she chirped. ”I'm pleased you like my singing. Hancock, you didn't tell me how pretty your little protegé was.”

Hancock leaned back, took Magnolia's offered hand and kissed it briefly.

”How could I ever do that when your beauty outshines everything in sight”, he smirked and then looked at me. ”No offense, Ree. Magnolia here just loves to be praised, but she knows I always exaggerate.”

”Oh, hush you”, Magnolia pretended to pout.

I swallowed and stayed silent while Hancock and Magnolia exchanged some words. Looking down in my glass I couldn't help but feel just a bit... jealous? Was that what it was? I was so taken aback with this realization that I stood up, excused myself and headed down the bathroom.

I stepped in, closed the door behind me and looked at the stalls, which seemed empty. I walked up to the mirror and took a good look. Yep, it was still the same old face which I had used seeing in the reflection. But at the same time it wasn't. At least, it was nowhere near the face I saw every day over 200 years ago. My eyes were more wary, My hair could use a trim and my skin had tanned.

Noticing some clean-ish water in the bucket beside the wash-basin I rinsed my face and noticed that my eyes took just a moment longer to adjust. Wow. A week in Goodneighbor, and I had already had a jet trip and now I was well on my way being properly drunk. Holly would be sooo pissed with me.

The door behind me opened, and Magnolia came in. Her eyes and mine met through the mirror, and she walked next to me.

”You okay, hun?” she took out a lipstick and begun to apply it with elaborate strokes. ”Hancock's pretty fond of you, you know. I know him well enough and can tell when he likes what he sees.”

”Are you... his lover?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Magnolia shot a look at me and started laughing. It sounded like an entire flock of birds were in the tiny bathroom.

”Ahh, hun! We're too similar that we could make each other happy”, she put the lipstick back in her purse and turned to me with a disarming smile. ”He's an old, dear friend. So... you don't have anything to be worried about.”

As my cheeks grew red, she laughed again.

”Ohh, what an adorable face! I was right!”

”What?” I turned my head, perplexed. This made her laugh even more heartily.

”You're such a sweet girl. And so innocent. You're in love with him, aren't you?”

My face was burning as I tried to find anything to reply.

”I'm... I'm not”, I finally stammered. ”Am I?”

Magnolia settled her hand on my shoulder and her smile was genuinely warm. Just then I noticed something off with her eyes and realized that she was a synth. A well made one, but her eyes just weren't human enough.

”I'm afraid so. And I'm glad for him, that there's someone who can see past him being a ghoul. Many women find it exciting, but in the end they can't handle the whole package. He's... too much for them. I really hope that you prove to be different from those type of women.”

I opened and closed my mouth. I must have looked like a goldfish. Magnolia ran her fingers through her raven-black hair and adjusted her dress.

”I'm also glad if he's finally found someone to save him”, she muttered.

”What?” I frowned. ”What do you mean by that?”

Magnolia checked herself for the final time and started walking towards the door, but turned around just once.

”You know what I mean. He's Hancock. He needs you more than you need him. He needs a safe haven, and you are the holder of it.”

After saying that, she blew me a kiss and was gone. And I was more confused than I was before entering the bathroom. And terrified to go back.

 


End file.
